Always Check The Driveway

After Eric and I returned the moving truck on Sunday afternoon, we came back to the new place and I started unpacking while he set up the office.

Suddenly, Eric came into the room looking panicked.

“Ange, I think I forgot something at the old house.”

“Really…what?”

“…I forgot your COMPUTER on the driveway!!!!”

You know, I always thought we’d forget a few things when moving…maybe a tarnished earring in the bathroom drawer, a dusty sock under the dryer, or a garden tool in the garage. Somehow, we managed to forget one of the most valuable things in the house- the machine that holds my cookbook recipes and photography. Go figure. And on the driveway of all places…lol.

It had now been about 4 hours since we left the house…and the computer sitting on the driveway. We called our friend Mary who lives nearby and she checked to see if the computer was still there. Thank goodness it was! Two hours later, we returned with my computer in hand and I figured this was a good time to back my computer up which is something I hadn’t done for a couple months. You can never be too sure with computers, especially during a move when things can get banged up…or forgotten on driveways.

Life motto: ALWAYS CHECK THE DRIVEWAY FOR THE COMPUTER.

Aside from that excitement, things have been going smoothly!

I managed to unpack our clothing:

We have a small walk through closet adjoining our bedroom and bathroom.

Eric’s side:

And my bigger side: :)

I’m like a human colour wheel or something.

We’re storing our underwear, socks, PJ’s, etc in the tall dresser in the bedroom. I’m also hoping to get some kind of shelf unit for the bottom of the closet for a bit more storage for odds and ends.

As for my eats, we’ll they’ve been all over the place since we started moving! Here are a few things I managed to snap a picture of…

Costco crackers and sunflower seed butter:

Not the healthiest choice, but handfuls of chocolate chips are a great blood sugar boost when moving boxes all day long. and Eric wondered where my super human strength came from…

dried cherries:

Chocolate and cherries…it’s practically trail mix, right?

lots of beer. Not good for staying hydrated…

Random bowls of banana, almond milk, sunflower seed butter, and hemp seeds also do the trick:

As do boxes from Whole Foods salad bar (probably the only veggies I ate for a few days):

and this delicious creation I came up with the other night! I added about 1/2 cup of almond milk, 3/4 cup frozen mixed berries, and 1/3 scoop Vega Chocolate protein powder into the blender. The result was almost like a berry sorbet…and made the perfect dessert!

I adore this President’s Choice Power Fruit Blend in smoothies. There are so many sweet cherries in it!

As for Sketchie, he’s not sure what to think of all of this!! He was on edge all day Sunday as he checked out every inch of the place.

Leave it to Sketchie to find this random hole in the kitchen cabinet…

I was in the kitchen and noticed him at my feet with HALF his body in the hole! I grabbed him out just in time! Gave me a real scare. I moved a big block to cover the hole so he can’t climb in…so hopefully that works. I can only imagine having to call the fire department for that one…umm my cat is stuck under my kitchen cabinet…haaaalp.

Yesterday, he did much better and got caught up on some major shut eye while I worked. I’m just trying to give him extra attention and affection while he makes this new transition. Moves are hard on people, but they may be even harder on the fur balls!

Woah, you have great karma! Forgetting your computer in the driveway is kind of the blogger equivalent of forgetting you put your coffee cup on top of the car so you could open the door, and then driving away only to have it slosh all the way down your rear window…

Oh my gosh, that’s crazy-of all things, the computer! I am so happy it was still there when you got back…I’m sure this will be something you guys forever remember!! Happy unpacking! :) I’ll be joining in on the fun in a couple weeks-we are headed out this week to find a new place!

My face went white when I read that about your computer! You’re so lucky that it was still there! (Or should I say HE was! HA!) What a random hole! Kitties find everything so it was good you were alerted to this cubby now instead of later when chaos could ensue!

OMG I don’t know what I’d have done if the computer had gone missing!! SO happy you guys managed to get it back safely! And it looks like you have some fantastic fuel to keep you going… how many WF trips have you made during the move? ;) Have a great day Ange!

Oh wow, I can’t even imagine what you must have felt like when Eric remembered about your computer – so glad it was still there! Seems like you’re making great progress unpacking – good luck with the rest of it!

I love your new place, it looks so modern and shiny! Sketchie is adorable as always – love the kitty updates! I am so appreciative of the fact that you’re a Canadian blogger. It is so exciting to hear you talk about products I can actually find here in the great white North :)

Isn’t it ironic how we can try so hard to remember everything, yet despite this, we sometimes forget the most important thing(s)? So glad your computer is safe and sound.

I’m so glad I’m not the only one who loves to eat bananas this way. I think it’s such a comfort food–sliced bananas, milk, some raisins or other chewy something, and a few chopped or sliced nuts. Your cat is gorgeous. I (and my kids more so) hope to have a kitty one day…

(and I love all the colors in your closet. says loads about your personality :)).

I hate the feeling when you know you have left something behind. I once was doing laundry at a laundry mat and left al my bras hanging to dry on the basket. ( ALL of my bras) and I only like Victoria Secrets so they are not the cheapest bras. I didn’t realize it until a few hours later, by the time I went back they were gone. Someone had actually stolen my bras! My story did not have such a happy ending. But I moved on, went to the store bought a few to tie me over and now my collection is growing again. :)

I’m glad your computer was still there! My dad’s business partner’s laptop was stolen on a train in Amsterdam that had all their business information on it….bad, bad thing. Thankfully it turned out ok. Always check the driveway, always check/watch for sketchy people on trains.

My cat will always get in the most awkward/dangerous nooks and crannies. He once got himself lost behind a drawer of my sister’s dresser. Most stressful 30 minutes of my life, but he finally got out of there in one piece. Silly cats, they just love to frighten us!

I hope you didn’t have a heart attack about the laptop…I think I might of! I want to go to Whole Foods for some pizza action! My friend said they actually will put Daiya cheese on it…I almost had a heart attack from so much excitement. I also told her it was worth the 40 min drive to come and enjoy it with her =)

Okay, I’m not a cat person at all- but your cat is gorgeous!!
I can’t believe you forgot your computer in the driveway. That is SO something I would do. I would have had a momentary heart attack for sure!

At my last apartment, my roommate called me to tell me she couldn’t find my cat. We had a hole under our cabinet, too, next to the stove, and she was the only animal we had that could fit in there. Scared me to death!

We had a kitten that did that – there was a space under the cabinets that we didn’t know about until she got her head stuck… for 45 minutes. I was dancing around freaking out and the kitten was screaming and the other cat watching while my boyfriend performed the resuce mission. What killed me is she was back there the next day looking at the space! I was so afraid she would suffocate! She was really stuck.

We moved this past year as well, for the same reason you did, my husband had been driving 3-4 hours every day for almost 3 years an we finally said “enough of this”. We took possesion of our new house the first of June. We did not however, sell our old house. My daughter finished out her school year and I was still working in our old town for the entire summer. So we were sort of living in two places until Septmber when I officaily left my job and our daughter began the new school year here in our new town.

During the summer, she spent a week in july and a week in august with daddy at the “new home” and the cat accompanied her for both weeks. So when we did our final transition, the cat had already been here a couple of times, which I thought would make it easier on him. Cats are funny creatures though and he was unsettled for a couple of weeks before he began to seem like his regular old self again. He seems to love the place now as much as we do though!

Nothing like moving to throw eats and snacks for a huge loop…like, oh, that random bag of this or that that I’ve had for a year and didn’t touch, sure, I’ll eat that now. With this other food that’s sort of random, too, but they kind of go together. Chocolate and cranberries, perfect!

Your computer. OMG. You and computers DON’T have good luck…the smashed laptop screen, thanks to the airlines from a few months back. Glad your desktop was safe!

My dad is getting remarried very soon. They’ve bought a new house that they’ll move into soon as well. The scary part is they will have three cats and three dogs to move as well. I’m not so sure it’s going to be easy to get them all to get along and enjoy a new house. Aaaah! Love new spaces though. I’m so excited you get to live in a town you love!

Glad you talked Sketchie out of going spelunking. We did a few small renos a while back and woke up to the sound of our cat meowing…inside the floor! Thankfully we were able to call him and convince him to come back out (all warm and dusty).

Have all the ingredients for the smoothie/sorbet dessert! Will definitely be trying that soon! Love President’s Choice brand- never disappoints!

Glad you’re moved in! And also have to try that sunbutter- never have had it before. I am a nut butter fanatic though. Recently just bought hazelnut butter. My oh my is it delicious! Have you ever tried it?

My cat found the same hole in my apartment the first day I brought her home! I couldn’t find her for like 20 minutes and finally heard some meowing. I had to unscrew some paneling to get her out!! Cats are so funny.

In our last apartment our sneaky cat opened the bathroom cupboards under the sink, finding a small hole that led from our apartment to the neighbors. Imagine our neighbors surprise when he got out of the shower that morning only to find a strange cat on his counter! Long story short, he ended up setting our cat free outside but we tracked him down eventually thank goodness!

Happy you’re settling in just fine – now that the computer/ your life work is saved ;)
Great snacks you’ve got there. I am impressed with Costco lately with the better selection of products they carry… who would have though ;/
xo

Great computer story — oy! That is something that would totally happen to me and my husband….just when you think everything has gone smoothly, the most valuable item gets lost in the shuffle! We are panic first, find sanity later kinda people, so I can only imagine the commotion that would have been at my house LOL!

I’ve never seen that berry mix before, but it’s already on this weekend’s grocery list!

I am so worried how my 3 cats are going to react when we move next month. I think our pup will be ok. He’s adaptable. That cats…..I dunno.

Cats get into the weirdest places. I had a freeak out when I still lived at my parents and had found that my sisters new kitten somehow got under the house. Took me 20 minutes of coaxing him out with his favorite stringed toy before I could grab him. -_-;;

omg! That reminds me of the time I went a couple towns over to stay with my parents for Christmas and when I got there I didn’t have any of my gifts. I thought I remembered bringing them out to my car in a couple reusable bags and I was so panicked that I left them on the ground in my parking lot. I was a huge ball of worried all the way back thinking that I had either run over them by mistake or someone had stolen them. They ended up being still in my front hall!

I admire you for not having a heart attack upon hearing that you left your laptop in the driveway! Phew!

I remember when I was moving, I made so many trips from my car to my new apartment and I kept trying to use my car’s remote unlock to unlock my apartment door. Seriously, if they have those for cars, why can’t they make them for house doors? :)

I’m glad the moving process is going so smoothly for you! I’ve moved around quite a bit in the last 10 years, and I have to say – I despise packing, and cleaning the old place, and then the new place, etc. etc., but I love the fresh start and the new place with all kinds of new decorating possibilities!

ohhh my goodness I can only imagine the panic that you felt for that short period of time before your friend found it. Talk about blood pressure spike. So glad you got it all sorted out and are moving in smoothly otherwise. The worst part is over now you get to organize and decorate and buy things (my favorite part!).

Oh no!!! I would have fainted or had some larger medical emergency if that happened to my computer! I am SO glad it was still here!!!! Good to know, also, that there are still honest folks around who don’t go picking up computers that are sitting in random driveways.

I have a very similiar story. My husband left my suitcase on our street, He assumed I put it in, I assumed since he carried it out, that he put it in our car. Got to the airport, realized…oh NO! then freaked out and yelled (just a tad) at him and then we went home… it was still there and this is for living in LA too (miracle!), and I still made my flight! :)

Congrats on the new house!!! You’re not that far away from me… perhaps one day I’ll bump into you at whole foods or organic garage! ;)
Just saw your recipes in the new Glow magazine!!! So congrats on that too! How exciting!

Wow so we’re not the only couple that recently moved and forgot something! We moved 2 weeks ago and Adam brought all of our boxes of stuff and misc items but when I went to get my slippers to start unpacking we noticed that the suitcases with all of our clothes were still at the place we were renting short term, luckily the neighbour had a set of keys and we got them the following day. Close call though, computer on the driveway is very scary. What a beautiful cat you have! Enjoy your new home.

Wow, I totally felt your anxiety and heart palpitations right through the screen about your computer. Maybe this suggestion has come up already, but www.dropbox.com! For free, you can store a limited amount or from $10/month you can store tons. Access it from any of your personal computers or via the web. Check it out. Best investment I’ve ever made – and continue to make monthly – in safeguarding my computer files. Glad the move-in is going well – I love the look and promise of a new empty space. I think you (and spring in general) are motivating me to purge purge purge my stuff!

It’s good that your computer was still there but even if it weren’t, thing could be worse. When I read the title, the first thing that came to my mind was an ad from a New Zealander radio station about driveway accidents. “Door locked – check, keys – check… kid playing on the driveway – didn’t check.” So it appears that driveways need much more attention than we think.

Angela, Have you tried Camino chocolate? They have vegan options. All are listed on their website under info. I check your blog daily, and have had great success with everyone of the recipes that I have tried. Too many to mention!! I love my vegan journey, and you have shown more options for eating. Enjoy setting up the new kitchen. Wishing you great success with the cookbook.

I’ve gotta tell you – I’ve always enjoyed your recipes, but only now, as I make my grocery list for my wisdom teeth extraction recovery, do I realize that they are a dream come true for people without teeth. Thank you for your gazillion takes on smoothies, oatmeal and soups. You light up my life. My gums thank you. For real.

Whew! Crisis averted! You probably know about this already, but you can also keep files stored online via a service like Dropbox (useful in the event all your at-home hardware goes on the fritz, or, God-forbid, your laundry machine floods your house). I’m sure it was more than a little hard to let go of your peaceful country house, but I’m secretly really happy that you and Eric will be able to spend more time together now (and your new place looks like it gets lots of gorgeous light!) Wishing you both all the best in this new-for-you-two home:-)

LOL – I’ve totally done the laptop in the driveway thing. Well, not that *exact* thing, but pretty darned close! Thank goodness it didn’t get stollen or rained on or anything. That reminds me… I need to back up my harddrive, too!

Looks like the house is coming together really nicely – you’ve gotten so much done already! And it’s good to see that Sketchie is settling in… I’ve heard so many horror stories of cats (and sometimes dogs) that just flip out over a move.

When we moved from our loft in SF to a tiny rental in Marin, I left my diamond necklace in the back of a shoe storage in my old closet! I contacted the new owner and had him fish back in there for it and meet me. He said he’d never have found it it was so far back! Congrats on your move, and as an aside, I love the pics of Sketchie — I lost my cat to old age about 6 mos ago, and this makes me want a Bengal!